PHILIPSBURG, St Maarten (AP) — Authorities in St Maarten are investigating the leader of the island’s main opposition party following allegations that he asked the manager of a strip club to help blackmail a fellow legislator.

Solicitor General Taco Stein said late Monday that officials expanded the probe after local media reported that United People’s Party leader Theo Heyliger allegedly sought to blackmail legislator Patrick Illidge so he could break the current ruling coalition and seize control of government.

Illidge is an independent parliamentarian but forms part of St Maarten’s governing coalition.

He appeared in a recently publicised video as seeming to accept stacks of money from the manager of the Bada Bing strip club as they discussed business permits.

Philipsburg:— The Attorney General of St. Maarten Taco Stein denies the allegation made by several persons including politicians that the leader of the United Peoples Party and Former Deputy Prime Minister Theodore Heyliger was given preferential treatment by the national detectives that are investigating the alleged bribery involving Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge and Bada Bing strip club owner Jaap van den Heuvel.
According to information provided to SMN News, the detectives working under the helm of Ademar Doran chose to interrogate Heyliger at his home because they did not want the media to get the word that they had spoken to Heyliger on Tuesday. When SMN News confronted Deputy Attorney General Taco Stein for an explanation on where the interrogation took place, Stein said that the national detectives tried to reach Heyliger by phone and he was not responding to their calls. He said they got word from Parliament that Heyliger was off island and they were also tipped off when he returned to the island but when the detectives called his phone Heyliger still did not respond. Stein said that the detectives then decided to go to Heyliger’s home in Guana Bay and they found the UP leader at home and decided that since both parties were there they would interrogate him at his home because it was convenient for both parties.

When SMN News asked the Deputy Attorney General why his office or the office of the Prosecutor chose to withhold the information from the media and the public in general for two days after they questioned Heyliger, Stein said they do not see the need to inform the media or the people of St. Maarten as to who they speak to on the case, and where these interviews took place. He said a press release was issued two days later when several other witnesses were also heard.

When SMN News asked Stein where was the Minister of Justice Roland Duncan, Minister of TEATT Romeo Pantophlet, and others were questioned, Stein said both Ministers were questioned at the Office of the National Detectives.

The Deputy Attorney General said that at no time they chose to give Heyliger preferential treatment. “The only reason the interview was done at Heyliger’s house was because he was not responding to the phone calls made to his phone, secondly we needed to speak to him so we went to his home and he was there and the interview was conducted there.”

SMN News also learnt that some focus is being placed on the leader of the National Alliance because according to comments made on SMN News and what was told to the detectives by Heyliger, all politicians including the Prime Minister knew of the tape and the only person who would have benefited if Illidge is taken out of Parliament is the National Alliance since the seat MP Patrick Illidge holds will return to the National Alliance.

It should be noted that the National Detectives is also tasked with investigating the election fraud case which is sitting on their desk for the past two and half years. When asked if Heyliger was questioned on that case, Stein said that the detectives only dealt with the Bada Bing Investigation.

Van der Heuvel told the today news paper that he made the tape based on a request from the UP party leader Theo Heyliger and that MP Patrick was not taking a bribe but was in fact being repaid money he had lent to the business man.

He stated that it all started when MP Illidge gave his support to the present coalition government which removed the UP leader from power.

He Theo Heyliger had even tried to pay off MP Laville in a bid to regain his support.

That did not work van der Heuvel stated and it was at that time that Heyliger came to him for his help. Attorney General Taco Stein told our news room on Monday that this information is being looked into as well; all aimed at determining if a crime was committed.

March 11, 2013

Bada Bing owner Jaap van den Heuvel said on Monday in an interview with the English-language daily Today in St. Martin that he is the video that shows how he pays money to the independent Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge made at the request of Theo Heyliger, the leader of the opposition party UP.

“I have the recording to Theo and he has the material to the Daily Herald handed,” said Van den Heuvel over the phone from the Netherlands.

The payment to Illidge is a term for a loan that the Member in 2011 to the strip club owner was doing. Van den Heuvel said Heyliger him initially aanwreef Illidge that he had paid to obtain a license for his business which includes the restaurant Neverland belongs. ”I have denied and explained that I had borrowed money from Patrick. That’s why he regularly came to me, in order to collect installments. “

Thereupon Heyliger for one of these encounters on video capture. ”I had while Deputy Prime Minister William Marlin moot. Heyliger knew That there were problems between Marlin and Illidge. That was the only part of the video that he would use with the aim Patrick back to his side. “

Illidge was in 2010 by 593 votes to parliament elected on the list of National Alliance William Marlin’s, but he declared himself independent where he soon Heyliger led by the UP-DP coalition supported. During the so-called calypso-coup in April last year Illidge concluded an alliance with former UP leader Romain Laville and former National Alliance member Frans Richardson. The three independent MPs then formed a coalition with the National Alliance and the Democratic Party. The coup took Heyliger – said Minister of Housing, Spatial Development, Environment and Infrastructure was the first Wescot-Williams cabinet – politically sidelined since none of his group was willing his or her seat in parliament for him to give up.

“Theo was very angry about this and he spoke with many people, including me,” says Van den Heuvel. “He said he would do on return to politics. Romain Laville first he tried to buy back $ 135,000 and when that failed, he came to me to ask a favor. “

The Bada Bing owner stated that the video Heyliger told The Daily Herald had given. ”His friend Michael Granger would be the part where I pay Patrick delete.”

Granger is employed as a reporter at the newspaper. He is a former press secretary to Mary Buncamper-Molanus, which in December 2010 was forced to resign after revelations about speculation leasehold land.Granger worked in the past as an assistant for Heyliger. Granger is currently also chairman of the local carnival.

Van den Heuvel said that UP-leader Heyliger left the island just before the story by the Telegraph in the Netherlands was brought publicity. ”This is politics played. Theo wanted the fire to subside and return to his place in politics again occupy. “

Justice Minister Roland Duncan says Van den Heuvel nothing to do with this affair, although his name is mentioned in the video. The license that the picture is spoken in the strip club owner called a removal permit in 2006 for which he has paid to his case moved to a new address. The license he has never received. The paperwork has to come from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, not of Justice.

Van den Heuvel returns on Tuesday returned to St. Maarten despite the fact that the Dutch Security Service has let him know that his life may be in danger on the island.

Van den Heuvel said he has discussed the situation with Illidge. ”He was obviously very angry and disappointed. We’ve known each other for years.I know Heyliger also long. But I do not participate in political games. Can not anyone in this way the pages leave while he is innocent. I would be better off if I were to say Illidge is corrupt. But that is not so. Heyliger wants at all costs back into politics. “

“My friendship with Illidge goes back to the beginning of his political career. Our children went to the same school. He helped me when my marriage broke down and now I have this to him. I have enormous regret what I did. “

PHILIPSBURG–The enquiry into the sale of long lease property by former minister Maria Buncamper-Molanus has been awaiting information from Deputy Prime Minister Theo Heyliger.

Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos told The Daily Herald the Prosecutor’s Office was still looking into paperwork and some clarification was required from Theo Heyliger as to procedures and practices.

He said, “We received the letter from the Deputy Prime Minister that we required during the week and we can now continue to take steps towards a conclusion regarding the case. We will inform the press and public when we have done so.”

PHILIPSBURG–United People’s (UP) party leader Theo Heyliger accused newly independent Member of Parliament (MP) Romain Laville on Tuesday of “betrayal” and promised that he would continue to serve the people of St. Maarten as he has been doing for more than a decade.

The UP leader’s remarks were made in an interview with The Daily Herald Tuesday night in which he broke his long public silence about recent developments in the political arena that have led to the collapse of the UP/Democratic Party (DP)/Patrick Illidge coalition government.

He said that while he knew “the game of politics,” he “would never have expected this type of betrayal” from Laville, who was leader of the UP Parliamentary group but who resigned from the UP recently, declared himself an independent MP and announced his support for a new coalition government to be led by the National Alliance.

Heyliger said all men and women were free to choose their own paths and should do so on their guiding principles, but the reasons for leaving the UP outlined by Laville to the public of St. Maarten painted a false picture of the green party and of himself and the other UP Ministers as public servants.

He said if Laville was conflicted over the reasons he had left the UP, he should not have denigrated hard-working public servants and used them as excuses to sell his story.

“I have known Mr. Laville since he was a teenager. The first time was when he participated in the Youth Island Council meeting. I helped the teenager Laville to prepare for such, of which he even publicly thanked me.

“Laville and I stayed in touch as he became involved with various youth groups. During this time, I became very good friends with his father Mr. Joe Laville, who actually built the house I presently live in. I helped Mr. Laville with his summer jobs at the harbour. … He eventually got a scholarship and returned and got a permanent job at the harbour.

“In 2010, Mr. Laville ran on the UP list and received 186 votes – close to 1,000 votes is needed for a seat. Mr. Laville became an MP on behalf of the votes that his fellow candidates mustered – the same candidates he has thrown under the bus. He did not get preferential votes. As a matter of fact a far cry from that. He then became faction leader.”

In countering one of Laville’s main contentions for leaving the UP, his impression that only certain people could get ahead under the UP government, Heyliger said that several of the people who were employed with the UP government were directly connected to Laville.

“Mr. Hiro Shigemoto, who was the treasurer of Mr. Laville’s campaign committee, became Minister of Finance. His campaign manager was appointed as a faction worker to the UP. My executive secretary was an avid supporter of Mr. Laville. Many associates of Mr. Laville have been helped and received work from this government,” Heyliger said.

Heyliger said it should never have been about who had gotten what, but rather about having patience and perseverance and realising that government is about rules that must be followed.

“Mr. Laville was part of the governing faction for only about two years – that was the scope of his political life – but expected everything to happen as he demanded and on his time clock,” Heyliger said.

“It has been the party’s policy to have every Minister appoint a young party candidate to his or her cabinet to get experience. Mr. Laville had access to four ministers at all times and was faction leader. Now today he is saying not to expect much from the new government.”

Regarding what is now widely referred to as the “Pelican” affair, Heyliger said Laville conveniently neglected to recognise that as soon as the Pelican case arose, he (Heyliger), Minister Franklin Meyers, Workers Institute for Organised Labour (WIFOL) and Pelican officials had spent an entire day working on a solution that had kept more than 146 workers in place.

“Everyone conveniently forgets this. We were the party that immediately tried to salvage that situation for the workers, before it ended up in court. Mr. Laville’s statements that we should have done this and that from early shows wilful ignorance or a disturbing lack of understanding of what was happening, as a faction leader,” Heyliger said. He said the UP government had worked on bringing in international brand Hard Rock to buy the resort. “All of this Mr. Laville has forgotten,” Heyliger said.

On work for the “Sucker Garden Boys,” Heyliger said his track record of providing work for the young men in districts spoke for itself. He said Laville should be reminded that years before he had started his political career, contractors had been obliged, through contractual agreements, to hire young men from whichever district they were executing work for government. “My record speaks for itself: St. Peters, Dutch Quarter and Middle Region, to name a few.”

On Laville’s Neighbourhood Maintenance project, the Heyliger said: “I told him we had to wait for the budget 2012 to be passed, as it had to be done right. He vehemently was against the law of accountability and public bidding and told me to make it happen. Again I looked at this as inexperience and tried to explain [to] him how government operates and to have patience.”

Heyliger said he didn’t have to defend what he had done for the everyday citizen Joe and Jane; he didn’t have to apply fanfare or run in front of the camera to show that he helped people. However, he said for Laville to paint him as someone above and beyond the people, knowing how he had worked on behalf of the people, was disingenuous at best and insulting at worst.

In concluding the interview, Heyliger added: “Mr. Laville talks about not letting his surroundings change him, yet it was these surroundings that gave him the opportunities and platform to be the activist that he is. He talks about David slaying Goliath, but there is another biblical story, more about betrayal, that applies best to his personal story.

“The UP party has served the people of St. Maarten diligently and will continue to do so. Mr. Laville and his impatient, emotional mischaracterisations and contradictions that expose his own motives will not stand in the way of that fact.

“On behalf of the UP, I thank the people of St. Maarten for their support and understanding, and assure you that we will continue to work on your behalf.”